I cant understand your remaining with a landline. I took a voip provider (minimum use, with North American calling, caller id, call waiting, conferencing, emails with missed messages and whatever. I got their little adapter box onto the router. I bought a ups for the router, the adapter box and for the cordless phones in the house. Last time we had a power failure (I test by pulling the main breaker), I still had phone service for hours. I used Vonage.

I know someone who is certified as both plumber and electrician. Works for a city and has good secure job. No job loss and job searching for months between contracts. Not the highest pay, but when you consider overtime and steady wages, it is a good way to raise a family.

I made a gun using a couple of clothes pins, some rubber bands, and a single 22 cartridge. The only problem was that the entire cartridge and bullet was the projectile. I was lucky the thing never exploded. And I was about 5 years old at the time.

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The difference in downloads has to do with name popularity. OpenOffice implies free and unencumbered . LibreOffice, if it was called FreeOffice would probably have done better in terms of downloads. To non English speakers, LibreOffice means freedom. But most Americans don't think about libre as meaning free or free to use or unencumbered.

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Sorry for your misfortune. Had you been living in most any other country, for example, Britain, Australia, or even Canada, for your skills and employment history, you would have been able to own a home, have $0.00 school debt, have had the equivalent of universal healthcare, and the ability to send your kids through 1st year university for free. The other years range from $2500.00 to about $4000.00, and with no guns. Yes, the world other than the USA is what is called a social democrat world, where you and your children can live well, and receive a good education.

Is the American dream still alive? Only if you are a clever lucky business person.

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When you learn two programming languages, you learn several skills besides the software grammar.
a)You learn to be structured in your thinking
b)You learn to write precisely, and to eliminate redundancy.
c)You learn a skill, that could help you to understand better, how "Scientists" think, as well as understanding how "Artistic" people think. You learn that both are bright and intelligent.

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If the taxes are not made more equitable, the wealthy will be super wealthy, and the rest of the population, living quiet lives. But then wealth should be measured not on annual income, but on assets, and we should tax the assets in a progressive manner.

The first 5 million with perhaps 1 percent rate, with an increase to some super high value (5 % per billion dollars).

The Quebec Government tried to do that to restaurants. They wanted to tax the wine inventory, 25cents a bottle. Some restaurants had bottles from their previous store owners, dating back 30 years. (One Restaurant had 25,000 bottles).
The government was almost defeated until pressure was applied to block the bill to do this retroactive tax. The government did not care if the bottle was single serving or litre size.

One can surmise that Quebec is in financial difficulty.

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What to do when the programmers get too comfortable in their obsolete skills. Examples are command line or "text mode ansi-graphics" and have not learned about object oriented design or how to write GUI C++ code. But they do have the business acumen and they can debug business problems in a jiffy.

Those gentleman must be coerced into wanting to upgrade. Tell them "you must take xxx course and pass or "risk career risks/layoff". Do not give them 5 courses, pace them or they will fail to put the 5 contents together. Those who take the courses are most often happy to learn new stuff. Those that don't, will suffer from attrition.

I am self taught, but I pushed myself to learn new stuff. I found what help I needed on forums, where any misunderstandings of theory or practice that I had were explained to me. (I am 70+).

Many individuals want to see what a printfile is for a 3D printer. This gun file gives them a chance to explore, without actually buying a 3d printer to make such a weapon. I just hope that legislators consider the 3d weapon print file to be a weapon, and require it to be encrypted, and only released to registered weapon(gun) owners.

Perhaps the justice system should treat 3d Gun printfiles as they would ChildPorn.

Gates erred when he said Ipad users cant prepare text.

My daughter and kids use the ipad and the cover becomes the keyboard. No, they do not write 30 page documents with it, but they do write emails, post to Facebook, etc.

The only time they open a computer with w7 is to play games.

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Having implemented ERP systems, and designed software for manufacturing, I would hold a set of interviews to determine their pressing business irritants. From the list of the irritants, First thing in the AM I would schedule some presentations to show how the ERP system would solve or ease them. Then, after a coffee break, I would repeat what was presented, and introduce the new things that the ERP system will do, and not do for them.

And you must wind up with cost versus speed of implementation. Want all departments implemented as a big bang, then WOW, training, simulation testing, training for trouble shooting etc, and the possibility of the company shooting themselves.

Then I would present an implementation plan, starting with (inventory, or fleet management or whatever is the pain point that, when implemented,) would make them more willing to do more. Don't cure too much too fast, or they will freeze system implementation at the 65% level, because you solved that abscess.

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I am favorably biased towards Israel and with Israels wanting preconditions to peace. All the Arab countries have said, "We will wipe Israel off the map". Israel has said, if you want to be recognized, it is reciprocal. Recognize the State of Israel. We are here, we are not going away.

Instead you Arabs want the return of lands (some of which we are prepared to negotiate) and you will still persist in wanting our annihilation. The 1967 borders, (like the Mexico vs Texas and Arizona borders) is not on the table.

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I tend to buy extended warranties for items that have historically failed within three years. In that category are laptops, backup hard-disks and any electromechanical items.
For statically located items(washer, dryer, oven, desktop computer, monitor), which is installed and rarely ever relocated, I go with the vendor's guarantee. I will, for a washer, consider the extended warranty if the store agrees to guaranteed service within 48 hours. (we are 10 at home, we do two full washing machine loads per day). The desktop computers are on 18 hrs per day. So, all things are considered, based on consumer reports reliabilities of the items we purchase.

This complaint reminds me of the two sisters living in the same house. Both were in the same grade.
One sister was neat, her homework looked like a piece of art, but she never got marks into the 90's.
The second sister was sloppy, bedroom upside down, stuff under the bed and on the floor, and her work appeared very messy.
But the content was great, the marks based on content were rarely below 95%, and this sibling had time for tennis, and girls soccer.

So, one sister is the person who raised the question, the second victim is the guy that delivers. And does it within the 8 hours per day. And his stuff works.

Where can I find 5 of the second kind of developer. I am sure his mess is well organized, though the documentation may be missing a few dotted eyes and a few crossed tees .

Reported this past week in NYtimes. A 4 year old using a "scaled down rifle", (built smaller for kids) shot and killed his 2 year old sister. The gun or rifle was supposedly unloaded, but a bullet was left in the chamber. Click, bang dead.

Yes, we need more guns.

Perhaps the answer is to allow printing guns such that the NRA cannot profit from any sales. Maybe then, we replace one evil with another.